On 1 April 1974, Birkenhead and the rest of the Wirral Peninsula, was transferred to the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in the newly established metropolitan county of Merseyside. The implementation of the Local Government Act 1972 caused Birkenhead to lose its county borough status. It still remains the largest conurbation within the Wirral.

History

The name Birkenhead is possibly from the Old Englishbircen meaning birch tree, of which many once grew on the headland which jutted into the river at Woodside.

The earliest records state that the Mersey ferry began operating from Birkenhead in 1150 when Benedictine monks under the leadership of Hamon de Mascy built a priory there.
Distanced from the Industrial Revolution in Liverpool by the physical barrier of the River Mersey, Birkenhead retained its agricultural status until the advent of steam ferry services. In 1817 a steam ferry service started from Liverpool to Tranmere and in 1822 the paddle steamer, Royal Mail, began operation between Liverpool and Woodside.

In addition to the ferries, the Mersey Railway tunnel in 1886 and the Queensway road tunnel in 1934 gave rapid access to Liverpool. This opened up the Wirral Peninsula for development, and prompted further growth of Birkenhead as an industrial centre. The town's population grew from 110 in 1801 to 110,912 one hundred years later and stood at 142,501 by 1951.

In September 1932 thousands of unemployed people protested in a series of demonstrations organised by the local branch of the National Unemployed Workers Movement. After three days of rioting, police were brought in from elsewhere to help quell the rioters.

Industry

Shipbuilding and ship repair still features prominently in the local economy. The long-standing firm of Cammell Laird entered receivership in 2001. The shipyard was sold and became 'Northwestern Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders', which grew into a successful business specialising in ship repair and conversion, including maintenance contracts for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. In September 2007 NS&S acquired the rights to use the Cammell Laird name.

Research Tips

Wikipedia's Merseyside page has two maps outlining the five districts of Merseyside. The second one illustrates the urban sections of all five districts and allows one to get a picture of the Wirral Peninsula today.

The following two maps illustrate the Wirral Peninsula at earlier dates:

A description of Birkenhead from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72 (courtesy of A Vision of Britain through Time)

GENUKI and "UKBMD" references for Birkenhead provide a list of the ancient churches of Birkenhead, all of which had thier own registers of births, marriages and deaths which may be referred to in other volumes. Links lead to the existence and location of these registers. The boundaries of the church parishes and dates of mergers of parishes are also given.